Bodenwein Foundation awards $100,000 in charitable grants

New London - A charitable fund of The Day Publishing Co. will award nearly $100,000 in grants to nonprofit groups in the region, four times the amount it distributed a year ago.

The Bodenwein Public Benevolent Foundation, created by the will of Theodore Bodenwein, a former publisher of The Day, will benefit 42 organizations that help needy children, families and individuals and support the arts.

Gary Farrugia, The Day's publisher, announced this year's recipients.

"The company made a nice turnaround in 2012, posting improved profits and achieving a measure of stability," Farrugia said Tuesday. "The improved profit picture is reflected in our increased corporate contribution to the Bodenwein Fund. The more we recover from the recession, the more we can give back to the communities we serve."

A year ago, the foundation distributed $25,000 to 16 organizations, the lowest totals in decades.

Since 1960, the fund has donated nearly $10.6 million.

The latest distributions call for four organizations to receive grants of at least $4,000 each and another 13 groups to receive $3,000 apiece. The average grant is about $2,375.

Natchaug Hospital, which operates behavioral health programs throughout eastern Connecticut, will receive $4,025 to purchase equipment for a treatment room at its facility in Groton. Other top recipients include Safe Futures, formerly the Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut; Hospice of Southeastern Connecticut; and the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut.

The Day Trust, a split-interest trust, oversees The Day's newsgathering and publishing operations and administers the Bodenwein Public Benevolent Foundation, whose funds come from The Day's earnings. Bodenwein, publisher of The Day from 1891 to 1939, and his associates conceived the arrangement, which is spelled out in his will.